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The available evidence indicates that people will thrive best – and reduce their risk of most major diseases – on diets providing about three parts omega-6 fats to one part omega-3 fats.

But Americans’ relative intakes of omega-6s to omega-3s shifted dramatically in favor of omega-6 fats over the past 100 years … a trend that accelerates sharply starting in the late 1960’s.

As a consequence, the average American’s diet now provides 20 or more parts omega-6s to one part omega-3s … a whopping seven times or more higher than the three-to-one intake ratio shown to deter major diseases and promote optimal health.

Dozens of human clinical and epidemiological studies – and many more cell and animal studies – link the omega-imbalance typical of most American’s diets to higher disease risks.

The body cannot use omega-3 ALA for the essential brain, metabolic, and immune functions performed by omega-3 EPA and DHA.

Humans convert just one to five percent of dietary omega-3 ALA into omega-3 EPA … a very small percent of which the body can convert to omega-3 DHA. (Pregnant women may convert as much as 10 percent of ALA to EPA.)

Those very low conversion rates are further reduced when the diet is high in omega-6 LA from vegetable oils … a perfect description of American eating patterns.

So it is dismaying to see these results from the 2012 Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition survey – an online poll of 1,000 adults conducted by the United Soybean Board (USB 2012):

Almost half considered vegetable oil to be healthier after learning that most of it is made from soybeans.

If vegetable oil were re-labeled to say 100% soybean oil, about one-third said they would be more likely to buy it.

Four out of five consumers believe soy products are healthy overall, while more than a quarter report they consume soy foods or soy beverages at least once a week.

The report contains this true but highly misleading statement: “Soybean oil is one of the few non-fish sources of omega-3s, and is the principal source in the U.S. diet.”

But the omega-3 ALA in soy oil is not remotely equivalent to the omega-3 EPA and DHA in fish fat, and soy oil contains far more competing omega-6 LA than omega-3 ALA.

And as the study by Dr. Hibbeln’s team reveals, soy oil is anything but healthful in the context of American diets that already suffer from an extreme overload of omega-6 fatty acids.

The soy industry has done a great job of giving soy foods – soy milk, tofu, and fake meats made from highly processed soy protein – an overly healthful image, despite a notable lack of evidence.

Sadly, most people apply that unearned perception of healthfulness to soy oil … to the detriment of their health.